Jason Morrow - Anywhere but Here

“Wouldn’t there be a way to open it?” Ethan asks.

Gilbert shakes his head. “Looks like something you’re supposed to break in the middle. Once you break it, you have to use it.”

“But for what?” I ask.

Gilbert shakes his head as he holds it up in the light. “I don’t know. Why don’t you lay hands on it and see what its future is?” He lets out a short laugh as I roll my eyes at him. I knew that once he found out I could see into the future he would find some way to give me grief about it. “Tell me, Waverly, what’s it like being a fortune-teller? I’ve always wanted someone to tell me the future.”

“Leave her alone,” Ethan says from the back.

Gilbert ignores him. I chew on my bottom lip, clearly not wanting to talk about it. He slouches in his seat and yawns. “You don’t need a crystal ball or cards or anything. You’re a palm reader is what you are.” He taps his fingers against the window like he’s playing scales on the piano. “Nah. I don’t believe it. Anybody could have guessed that. The fat oaf was lucky it was only his wrist and not his neck.”

I slam on the brakes and Gilbert lets out a curse as he smacks the front dash, steadying himself with his palms. “I don’t think we’re there yet,” he says.

“Get out,” I say.

“Waverly, what are you doing?” Ethan asks.

Gilbert stares at me and it’s the first time I’ve seen him look afraid.

“Get out!”

I unsnap my seatbelt and open the door, walking to the other side of the SUV until I open Gilbert’s side.

“What are you doing?” he says.

Ethan is out of the car now. “Waverly, we don’t have time for this.”

“Are you really trying to throw down right now?” Gilbert says.

“I’m going to prove to you that I can see the future,” I say.

He rolls his eyes.

“Give me your hand,” I say. “Now, I can only see a few moments ahead, but maybe I can predict something you’ll do or say.”

“Impossible,” Gilbert says. “If you tell me what I’m going to say, then maybe that will be why I say it.”

“Then I’ll tell Ethan, and we’ll both watch for you to do what I see.”

Gilbert looks at Ethan and shakes his head. “Fine. Whatever.” He holds out his hand to me. “Please tell me my immediate future,” he says sarcastically.

I hesitate, but I don’t know why. This is my first time to try this without fear of imminent danger, and I don’t know if it will work. I can’t bear the thought of having to listen to Gilbert the entire way to Crestwood, babbling about how I’m a fake. I shouldn’t let him bother me so much, but everything he says just gets under my skin.

I reach out and grab his hand and the bright light flashes.

I expect to see the three of us riding in the SUV together. I thought that maybe I would see him cough, or sneeze, or maybe he would tell an off-color joke to Ethan, but what I actually see terrifies me.

There is the other me, standing next to Ethan in what looks to be a giant warehouse. She’s cold and shivering, and there is another man there. He looks like he’s in his twenties, but I can’t see him that well in the darkness. The sound of greyskins all around them grows louder.

“There needs to be a distraction,” the man says. “or we’re all going to die.”

There is a long pause. It’s storming outside. The rain falls heavy and the lightning flashes every couple of seconds. They are all cold and full of fear. Each of them looks tired.

As I watch my other self, I see her fingers clutch to Ethan’s clothing. He leans his forehead into her cheek and whispers. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” she says.

His hand reaches for hers and he holds it tenderly, and a blank stare falls on the other Waverly’s face.

I watch from my out-of-body distance as Gilbert stares at the group. I expect him to be angry, but instead, I see him wipe away a tear.

“Give me the gun,” Ethan says. “I’ll distract them. You all run.”

The man hands Ethan the rifle.

“No,” Waverly says.

Gilbert steps forward and snatches the rifle from Ethan. “I can’t let you do that.” He looks from Ethan to Waverly. “I’ve been here before. Last time, I didn’t make this choice, now I have to. I’m already dead. That’s why I’m so cold and bitter.” Another tear falls down his face. “I loved her so much. Now, I can be with her.”

“Who?” Ethan asks.

“No time,” Gilbert answers. He pulls the cylinder from his pocket and tosses it to Ethan. “Use this to your advantage somehow.”

Waverly clutches Ethan and tries not to make eye contact with Gilbert. It’s too painful to watch. But he lowers his head to force it. Through tears, she looks at him.

“This is what you saw, isn’t it? When you stopped the SUV?”

She swallows and nods.

“I don’t know if you can change what you see,” he says, “but I don’t want you to, regardless.” He looks at the others. “Sorry I’ve been such a jerk to you all,” he says. “It’s not who I really am.” He takes a deep breath. “This is who I really am.”

He steps away from them and runs to the other side of the warehouse, screaming and shooting the gun in the air all the way. The greyskins sense him and converge on him. The rest seems like a white blur. I don’t know if they get out. All I hear is the screams of Gilbert and the groaning of the greyskins.

The white light flashes and I find myself standing in front of Gilbert and Ethan with my mouth hanging open. I can feel wet cheeks as the tears begin to flow down them. I quickly turn away and try to wipe them, but Gilbert is already berating me with questions.

“What in the world did you just see?” he asks. “What would make you start crying? I didn’t even think you liked me that much. What could seriously happen to me in the next few minutes?”

But I know that none of what I just saw will happen in the next few minutes. It seems to be the first time for this, but what I just saw could be tonight, the next day, the next week. I look up at the sky and see a perfectly clear, cold day with the sun shining bright and high. There are no storm clouds. There is no lightening.

I look at Ethan. In the scene before me I had seen myself holding his hand — a blank stare across my face. Was I seeing another vision. How far ahead did I see in this one? Months? Years? Who was that man that was with us?

“Waverly,” Gilbert says softly. “Tell me what you saw.”

I rest my head against the side of the SUV, trying to hold back tears. I don’t like this ability that has surfaced. I don’t like knowing what is supposed to happen. There is no good coming from it if I can’t change anything. Or can I change something but I just don’t know how?

“I just have a headache,” I lie. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Then why are you crying?” he presses.

“I miss Lucas,” I say. I do miss Lucas, but I’m afraid I’m more transparent than a clean window.

“I don’t believe you,” he says.

“Gilbert,” Ethan says. “If she doesn’t want to answer you, then let her be. Come on, we should get into the car before someone or something sees us out here.”

“Can you drive?” I ask Gilbert.

He steps away from me slowly. “Sure,” he says under his breath.

I pull open the back door of the SUV and get in. Ethan hesitates, but he makes his way to the front seat. Before Gilbert gets in, he turns to me. “Hey. You all right?”

“I’ll be fine,” I say. I don’t look at him. I know it sounds dumb, but I don’t want to see his sympathetic blue eyes. I don’t want to hold his hand later. I don’t want these visions anymore.